The Lagos State Catfish Allied Farmers Association of Nigeria (LASCAFAN) has urged its members to increase value creation to boost profitability in the sector.
LASCAFAN Chairman Mr. Olatoye Fajimi made the call in an interview with reporters on Friday in Lagos.
Fajimi emphasized that local farmers must devise innovative strategies to add value to their produce.
“In value addition, we are encouraging members to be innovative to earn more. We have trained our members and are promoting various fish products, such as catfish powder, catfish kilishi, catfish fillets, and catfish oil. We cannot rely solely on the traditional ‘point and kill’ method to break even. By developing derivatives from catfish and its offal, we can sell in more varieties and increase profit margins,” he said.
The LASCAFAN chairman also called for the revival of frozen catfish sales using blast freezers.
“We tried frozen catfish years ago, but low patronage made the cold-chain unprofitable, so we stopped. However, with the Lagos State buy-back arrangement, which plans to blast freeze catfish, we hope the business will thrive,” Fajimi said.
He expressed optimism that reviving the blast-freeze business would boost profit margins for fish farmers.
“When operational, more frozen catfish will circulate, and we expect our frozen catfish business to grow,” he added.
